Hamburger timeMark Hamburger, 24, has gone from Mounds View High School to an open tryout camp with the Twins, to the Rangers organization (in the trade that brought Eddie Guardado back to Minnesota) and now to the big leagues. Hamburger, who signed with the Twins for $500 in 2007, emerged as one the Rangers' best relief prospects. Armed with a 95-mph fastball, he made his big league debut Wednesday against Tampa Bay, retiring the side.

Recommended readingI was always a believer that the MVP award should go to a player whose team reaches the postseason. A recent Joe Posnanski blog post called "The Myth of Pressure" changed my opinion. Posnanski argues that players having great years for substandard teams might be even more remarkable than the ones piling up big numbers for playoff teams. He uses Cal Ripken's 1991 MVP season as an example. That year, Ripken batted .323 with 34 homers and 114 RBI, while playing every single game, for the 95-loss Orioles. Read more at joeposnanski.blogspot.com.